Find out about the types of vehicle insurance available in Russia, how to make a claim and what the cover provides...

In order to drive any vehicle in Russia, a driver must have the minimum compulsory third-party liability insurance OSAGO (?????; Obyazatelnoe strahovanye avtograzhdanskoy otvetstvenosti / ???????????? ??????????? ??????????????? ???????????????), colloquially known as avtotsivilka (???????????).

This policy is of quite limited coverage, so it is advisable to purchase additional insurance. For foreign drivers in Russia, it is recommended to take out the full 'autokasko' insurance, offered by all major insurance companies, which may also include road assistance.

If importing a vehicle, insurance can be arranged at the border when entering Russia.

OSAGO Insurance

The OSAGO policy must be carried at all times while driving. Together with the insurance contract and the policy paper, the insured driver receives a form called Notice About Accidents (Izveshchenyia o dorozhno-transportnom proizshestvii / ????????? ? ???????-???????????? ???????????? – also known as the Izveshchenyie o DTP / ????????? ? ???). In the event of an accident, it must be updated by the insured at the scene and submitted to the insurance company.

The costs, duration and conditions of policies and agreements differ between insurance companies and for individual customers, cars and requirements in a policy. Most companies have a calculator on their website to work out approximate prices of cover and to compare services offered.

There are efforts to implement a bonus/malus system in OSAGO insurance, but it is not yet fully functional due to the lack of a unified accident reporting system among insurance companies. There is now a move towards this with a progressive policy in place to implement the system and the Union of Auto-Insurers is starting to collect information in a common database.

Making a Claim

In order to make a claim after an accident, the insured (or proxy) must present to the insurance company the documents listed below within 15 days. The usual term of processing a claim by the insurer is 30 days. Details of how and where repairs are assessed and carried out, the possibility of a courtesy car and how claims are processed can vary between individual policies and different insurance companies, so should be confirmed when signing up for a policy.

Statement about the accident (written by the traffic police officer at the scene of the accident)

Copy of the statement about administrative violation of the law (stamped by the traffic police)

Notice About Accidents form with information about damages to the car, which is given together with the OSAGO insurance papers

Notice No.154 (if applicable)with information about the damage to the vehicle(s) and indicating the guilty party (this is provided by the traffic police officer fi one was present at the accident)

Breakdown and Recovery in Russia

Roadside assistance (Pomoshch na dorogakh / ?????? ?? ???????) and recovery services are available as part of some insurance packages or separately from the same or different companies, some of which are listed below.